Former Vending Firm Official Sentenced in Pepsi Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A former official of a New Jersey-based vending company has been sentenced to prison time for his role in a scheme that defrauded the Pepsi Bottling Group of $2.9 million over a 10-year period.

Cedar Grove resident Joseph Belasco was ordered Tuesday to serve six months in prison and six months of home confinement. He also will pay $1 million in restitution and must serve two years of supervised release once he's freed from prison.

The 65-year-old Belasco pleaded guilty last November to a complaint charging him with providing a false 2008 Internal Revenue Service 1099 tax form to the wife of a PepsiCo executive for consulting services she never performed.

Pepsi Bottling Group is owned by Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo Inc.